Volunteers spent Wednesday seeking out and speaking with homeless people in Kansas City to look for the best way to help them.

For the past five years, programs like the Point in Time survey have helped the number of homeless people in Kansas City decrease. In 2009, there were close to 1,600 documented homeless men, women and children in the Kansas City area. As of last year, the number was down to about 1,450.

Advertisement

Still, experts said 19 new families get evicted every day and the fight to keep them off the streets is a big one.

Eric Peterson has been homeless for nearly two years. He said it can happen to anyone.

“Man, it can happen in just an instant,” he said.

He said he likes the idea and the reasons behind the Point in Time survey.

“I do. I understand it. I hope everybody can help these homeless out here.”

The survey questions people currently dealing with a homeless situation on a variety of issues, including whether any particular trauma caused the homelessness. The goal is to identify who is homeless, why they are homeless and how they can be helped.

The study, now in its 20th year, is sponsored in part by the V.A., which is looking for homeless veterans.

“(We want to) count them and develop a by-name registry of who they are, where they are located and what their needs are so that we can aggressively begin to address the needs of anyone interested in a way out,” said Vision 15 Homeless Coordinator Randy Crandall.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James said the information is critical to helping reduce the homeless population. He said he’d love to see the number drop to zero.

“We’re going to continue to work towards it and this survey will tell us if we’re getting closer by what we’re doing,” James said.

Peterson said some more shelters would help out, but for now, he’s just trying to get by.

“Just stay by myself and do the best I can, you know? Stay warm and stay fed and thank God there are people out here to help us,” he said.

The 2015 Point in Time survey showed that of the 1,446 homeless people in Jackson County, 345 of them were children.